I enjoy taking a pile of junk and making something unusual out of it. I like wheeled vehicles, and currently own two motorcycles, two electric bikes that I've built, and an electric scooter pushed by a sock monkey on a unicycle.
I also enjoy building animatronic devices. My favorite is a talking robot head I made a few years ago called Robot Head 2. RH2 has spoken at numerous meetings and schools. His largest audience was 1,000 sales managers at a national meeting.

I used concrete pavers resting on the ground to support the deck, and I didn't tie the deck to the shed. Nothing has moved in all these years. Where I live, however, I don't have to worry about the ground heaving during the winter.

A google search will come up with information on how the model 8H55 works. As for cleaning it, if the clock motor doesn't turn, sometimes you can drill a tiny hole in the motor housing and get a little bit of a light lubricant inside, but you have to be very careful when you drill. Good luck!

It is very popular to "trash" WD40 -- my favorite is when people say "WD40 attracts dirt." It is true that airborne particles can combine with a surface coated with WD40, just like the same particles can combine with a surface covered with a very fine clock oil. The internet is filled with "don't use WD40" outcries. Unfortunately, most are just repeating what they heard or read somewhere else. There are six clocks in my office today keeping perfect time. All were lubricated with WD40 TEN YEARS AGO!! End. Of. Story.

Phil -- great write-up, as usual! I once had a toilet that would periodically "top itself off" just like you would expect with a leaky flapper valve. I replaced the flapper valve, cleaned around where it seats, but still had a problem. Finally, using a flashlight, I saw that the overflow pipe had a small crack near its base, which let water gradually leak out. Toilets -- can't live with them, can't live without them....